JK Assembly passes Rs 95666.97 Cr Budget for 2018-19

The Jammu and Kashmir Ap­propriation Bill-2018 moved by the Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu in the House in this regard was passed with voice-vote.

Pertinently, for the first time in J&K’s legislative history, the Fi­nance Minister has linked the Ap­propriation Bill with wide-ranging expenditure reforms to ensure checks and balances for efficient fiscal management and speed up spending to make productive use of resources for the larger public good.

Earlier, Dr Drabu had, on Janu­ary 11 this year, presented the Budget proposals for 2018-19 in the House, comprising a revenue com­ponent of Rs 51244.72 crore and cap­ital component of Rs 44422.24 crore.

Enumerating the fiscal reforms factored in the Appropriation Bill this year, Dr Drabu said the Finance and the Planning, Devel­opment and Monitoring Develop­ments shall release both Revenue and Capital budget to all the ad­ministrative departments within two weeks of the passage of the Ap­propriation Bill.

He said the administrative de­partments shall, in turn, ensure release of funds to the subordi­nate offices within four weeks of their receipt, failing which these funds shall be deemed to have been transferred to the intended DDOs on the dates they ought to have been released by the administra­tive departments /Controlling Of­ficers. “Planning Development and Monitoring Department shall ensure that all plan allocations to be made in the next fiscal bear proper classification, indicating, name of the work/scheme against detailed Head-115 Works,” he said and added that in the absence of the schematic classification, the relevant Capex release shall be deemed as invalid and not open to being operationalization.

The Finance Minister said there no payments shall be made by any Treasury/PAO from 1 April 2018, under any expenditure head, if the releases for the same have not been made and further received by the spending and bill passing Officers via BEAMS. “Treasury Officers/ PAOs shall be personally liable for making payments on the funds re­leased and received bypassing the BEAMS application,” he said.

Dr Drabu further said that the Planning, Development and Moni­toring Department shall manda­torily upload on its website the department-wise “Name of the Schemes/Works/Projects”, form­ing part of the Capex budget for the fiscal 2018-19, along with the respective allocations.

He said the expenditure reforms across the departments shall fur­ther be strengthened by initiating measures including bringing com­plete transparency in the finan­cial and administrative processes through increased IT interventions, ensuring authorisation of such works for execution only which have prior administrative approval, technical sanction and appropriate financial back up and ensure ex­penditure monitoring on real-time basis through BEAMS and PFMS.

He said the procurement plans of the departments for the next fiscal shall be limited by an out­ermost cap of 60 days, starting1st April. “From conceiving the na­ture and quantity of public goods and services to be procured to preparing tenders/RFQs/EoIs to finally awarding the contract, the departments shall compulsorily finish the whole process by 30 May 2018,” he said and added that any spill-over in timelines shall be au­tomatically visited with the appro­priate disciplinary actions.

The Finance Minister made it clear that the funds shall be spent only on the approved items of the expenditure and strictly for the purpose they have been released. “There shall be no re-appropria­tion of funds except where the de­partments have spent 55% of funds received ending December 2017,” he said and added that however, where their spending levels are be­low 55%, the remaining 70% funds shall lapse to the Government.

He said the expenditure during the last quarter shall be restricted to not more than 30% of the Revised Estimates. “Treasury officers shall have an added responsibility to en­sure that the departments are held responsible to the above expendi­ture ceiling,” he said.

Dr Drabu said the State Share of the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and the expenditure to be incurred on utility shifting, land compensa­tion etc under PMDP projects shall be the first charge on the funds lapsing to the Government during the last quarter.

The Finance Minister made it clear that there shall be, henceforth, no engagement of casual workers, need-based workers etc by any de­partment. “The Planning, Monitor­ing and Development Department shall, invariably, condition all de­velopmental/plan releases to the departments to the unconditional vouchsafing by the latter that they shall refrain from making fresh en­gagements,” he said.

Dr Drabu said it is reassuring to note that a broader political con­sensus is emerging in Jammu and Kashmir to put in place a viable economic framework, a robust fis­cal management structure and an achievable budgetary policy.

“I express gratitude to the mem­bers of this august house, from both the treasury and non-treasury benches for putting across valuable suggestions on how to further im­prove the expenditure policy and ensure productive use of the re­sources in the larger interest of the State and its people,” he said and added that the fiscal reforms intro­duced over the past three years are aimed at bringing stabilization in JK’s economy and reduce volatil­ity for economic revival through enhanced investments, public ex­penditure and widening the net of socio-economic security.

The Legislators, cutting across the political divide, hailed the ex­traordinary expenditure reforms outlined by the Finance Minister in the Appropriation Bill to ensure fiscal discipline and speedy and productive use of resources

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